Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta won't rush into selling midfielder Thomas Partey until he has had a chance to fully 'assess' the situation and his potential replacement, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
Is Thomas Partey leaving Arsenal and who have they been linked with?
According to The Daily Mail, Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli are continuing to pursue Ghana international Partey this summer as he mulls over his future at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are reportedly open to selling the £200k-a-week ace to help recoup funds for new signing Declan Rice and have targeted Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia as a potential replacement.
As per the same outlet, Ajax attacking midfielder Mohamed Kudus is another player of interest to Arteta, who is eyeing a £40 million move for Partey's international compatriot.
Outgoings are said to be the main focus for the Spaniard at present; however, Arsenal haven't ruled out dipping their toe back into the market if they right player becomes available.
Last term, Partey made 40 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal, registering three goals along the way in their failed Premier League title bid, as per Transfermarkt.
90min have cited that Partey has joined Arsenal on their pre-season tour of the United States and is said to be someone that Arteta would also be open to keeping hold of despite putting feelers out to gauge interest in his services.
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jacobs thinks that Arteta will take his time to 'assess' the situation before reaching a conclusion in his own time.
Jacobs told FFC: "I think the other thing with Arteta is that he wants first to assess in pre-season, who he's kind of got and where that kind of chemistry is to make sure that they buy in the right position. I think that this is very classic Arteta. If we go back to the Arsenal interest in Youri Tielemans, who's now at Aston Villa, when Arsenal did personal terms with Youri Tielemans, they didn't pull the trigger and they waited because they wanted to assess their squad and their chemistry and their balance because Fabio Vieira had come in.
"Even with Tielemans, it was at the right time to get him in. In the end, they decided that it wasn't and I think the same with Mohamed Kudus because, obviously, he's a different midfielder to Romeo Lavia. So that's the intrigue in all of this, will Arsenal let Partey go and then bring in someone like Lavia, or will they move for an attacking midfielder and winger like Kudus, who's young and has a strong profile, but it's maybe not necessarily what Arsenal need right now in terms of priority."
Have Arsenal got anyone else on their radar at this stage of the window?
The Sun report that Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz is a person of interest to Arsenal and it is said that the Gunners could do battle with arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur to try and land the Brazilian enforcer.
Discussions are also underway between Arsenal and Gremio regarding 23-year-old midfielder Bitello, who could be available for a relatively inexpensive fee of £8.5 million this window, according to 90min.
Croatian youngster Martin Baturina, who plies his trade for Dinamo Zagreb, is another target for the Gunners following his exemplary performances at the UEFA EURO Under-21 Championships, as per The Evening Standard.
Only time will tell to see if Arteta has any unexpected aces up his sleeve between now and the close of play in the market as rumours continue to swirl concerning potential incomings at the Emirates.
